Here's a sentence I never expected to type: I thought the slightly goofy premise of a kingdom centered around/driven by the story of Cinderella was pretty well balanced by the serious portrayal of the misogyny/patriarchal structure (which wasn't exactly subtly drawn, but, hey, neither was The Handmaid's Tale, or The Power, or Vox).

However, I would echo other reviewers in the disappointment in regards to the weak world-building (there's very little sense of culture other than the patriarchal laws, obsession with Cinderella, and a vague occasional Frenchiness, and not a lot of information on how the local area is involved with other cities, countries, etc. and what other people who don't live in this kingdom think of the whole Cinderella thing), the insta-love relationship, and the generally poorly defined characters.

I did like that Sophia already had a strong sense of her own sexuality (this isn't really a coming out story) but I thought the two romances were pretty underdone: Erin didn't have much of a personality beyond "Sophia's scared friend who she's in love with," and while Constance was drawn more strongly, just being the two somewhat well-rounded characters isn't really a basis for a relationship.

The twist toward the end did surprise me and brought some extra interest, but didn't entirely tally with the rest of the book, and overall I found the ending a little pat.

Try for readers looking for darker but more empowering fairy tale retellings.

This story gets a 5/5 for diversity that more authors need to find and develop as our times change. That being said, I give the whole story a 3/5 for a couple different reasons. I love the story and concept of a world who follows in the story of Cinderella’s footsteps, it is entirely original. But the center of the book lulled quite drastically and I almost did a DNF. The magic in the book deals greatly with necromancy and the detail given I believe is above the appropriate age level of those who would be reading this story. I read a lot of books that have magic, but this felt altogether too real and made me uncomfortable. The twist at the end of the story is really good, and one most readers will not see coming!

Another reviewer used the terms "predictable, important, and frustrating" to describe this book, and I have to wholeheartedly agree. I thought for sure that this would be the easiest 5 stars I'd give in 2020, but I think my expectations were way out of line for what this book intended to be. The idea of a Cinderella retelling that features diverse characters smashing the patriarchy is truly the level of fantasy we need in the world today; however, I really struggled to get past the fact that there is hardly any world building in this story, which caused me to feel a disconnect to characters that were keeping me at arms length. The narrative here felt heavy-handed, as the bringing down of toxic masculinity was more "telling than showing", and the plot plays out pretty much as you'd expect, aside from a really excellent reimagining of the fairy godmother. Even though this one wasn't quite what I'd hoped, I highly respect what the author was creating with this book, and I definitely recommend you try this one out for yourself.

And that is how you do a retelling my friends!
This story starts 200 years after Cinderella died and tells us of how the world was changed by that fateful night at the ball.
Just enough details from the original fairytale to satiate my inner child; she encouraged an entirely new plot-line for me to follow.
This was genius and I look forward to getting to know Kalynn Bayron's back catalogue.
Much love to NetGalley & Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for my DRC.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I had quite a few expectations for this Sapphic feminist retelling of Cinderella with a black girl but it was a tad disappointing. The book follows Sophia, a 16 yr old girl living in the very same Kingdom where Cinderella met her prince Charming, the place which now has a decree in which all girls of age must attend a ball to find their very own "prince charming". It's a book about a black girl that loves girls and wants women to be treated like humans instead of property.

The book is very fast paced and it took me a day to read it, it quickly moves from one scene to another. Sadly, due to that same very aspect it's also very shallow. The author doesn't really develop her characters or setting beyond a name and one defining characteristic, the book feels very surface level and you can't really connect with the characters. Another issue I had is that it's not very subtle, it explains you things that are easy to understand and throws things in your face to make a statement.

On the good side, I feel like this book is great for a younger YA audience! The messages within the book are certainly great and it has a certain feel to it that you can't help but agree with.

I do recommend this book, I was just expecting more from it.

I enjoyed this retelling! I loved the Black and queer rep and the twist the author did with this hugely popular fairytale. It was darker and was aimed toward crushing the patriarchy and misogyny. The treatment toward women from men in this book was horrifying, but not far fetched which is so incredibly sad to admit. I only wish we got to see more action and more of where the story goes/picks up at the end. I think a really good sequel could be made based off of the ending and I would love to read more!

**Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I love fairy tale reimaginings, but I found Cinderella is Dead to be a bit lackluster. The premise was incredibly promising, but I found the story as a hole was pretty generic and bland. The world-building, the characters, the themes - I just felt like it had all been done before.

This book makes me want to take my (non-existent) girlfriend and smash the patriarchy. Like, more than I usually do.

This is the story of Sophia. Sophia lives in the fairy tale land of Mersailles, which is ruled by the evil, sexist (and I think white) King Manford. Sophia loves girls and has a pseudo-girlfriend, Erin, who Sophia is trying to get to run away with her. Erin refuses, due to the pressures of society. This is the kingdom that Cinderella once lived in, and every year, in her honor, a ball is held where the menfolk can take any woman they like and marry her. Sophia, being an intelligent girl, is all fuck this shit and runs away from the ball. While on the run, she meets Constance and thus begins an adventure to Save the Kingdom from Patriarchy. Go, team!

So, yes, my summary is a bit glib, but it does pretty much encompass the story of the book. I am excited for girls to get their hands on this because: A) our protagonist is a beautiful smart black girl who loves other girls, and B) while at times almost heavy-handed, the theme of smash the patriarchy runs throughout this book is so vital for teen readers of any gender. Sophia constantly points out the discrepancies in power that exist between men and women in the kingdom, and while this is set in a fairy tale land, many of these discrepancies exist in our world today. This book is a great vehicle for opening up and beginning those awkward conversations. It can also serve as an introduction for teen readers to realize that oh, hey, these aspects of life aren't fair and these things should be fixed.

This book's plot does move super, super quickly though, which is why I knocked it down to 3.5 stars. There were times I had to go back and re-read a page or 5 because I had no clue where I was in the story or what had happened. Also, while I will never, ever bitch about there being too many female protagonists in a book, sometimes the use of her/she gets a little confusing because you're not sure who exactly said or did something.

This is a young adult fairy tale retelling with strong dystopic elements about Sophia, who is determined to dismantle her city’s fundamentalist adherence to the Cinderella story. The novel had an interesting premise, and while I thought the execution could have been more nuanced, I do think that young teens would enjoy reading the story of a girl singlehandedly taking down the patriarchy. It’s also a queer story—the main character is a lesbian—though it appears that the society adheres to a pretty strict male/female gender binary.

Holy crap!

This is the dark, dystopian fairy tale of my dreams! CINDERELLA IS DEAD is a lushly imagined exploration of the Cinderella tale that turns everything we thought we knew on it's head. Sophia is one of my favorite protagonists that I've read in a long time--sharp and witty, full of fire and willing to fight for everything she loves. This book is a relentless look at how the stories we tell shape the world around us, and what we must do to break the chains they make.

In this remixed Cinderella story Sophia is just a girl in love with her best friend Erin and wants nothing to do with the stupid traditions of the Kingdom of Lillie. There is an annual ball that all girls of age must attend and then they must be selected by a suitor or else they can be forfeit. There was so much about finding agency and people sitting quietly while knowing the things that are happening around them are wrong just because it's tradition. I really enjoyed the author's take on these topics and the female/female romance was so cute in the story. I definitely will be recommending this book.

I loved this! I loved the taking of such a famous cautionary tale and the way it was spun to really look at how stories can be spun out of context for the purpose of serving other's. This book really takes the notion of women/female abuse and degradation by men and the patriarchal system. This is a book any girl or boy should read because it's showing how a people/ group can be oppressed by others and how stories can be used to fuel that system is very crucial to understand. It's great writing, great characters , a great narrative. I loved this book and it's so representative, it's a crucial work to have on our shelves.

I have had this finished for awhile but I’ve been putting off writing my review because I’m super disappointed about this one. This was one of my top most anticipated reads of the year so I went into it early, excited and ready to read a story featuring a badass female MC taking down the patriarchy. Cinderella is also one of my favorite Disney movies so I was excited to finally see a retelling. Unfortunately, not much worked for me with this story.

I really enjoyed the beginning! The author did a great job of immediately pulling me into this city surrounding Prince Charming’s castle. I thought the setup was interesting, the ultimate underlying development of this city specifically and their rules. This city treats Cinderella’s story almost like our society (at least in the US) treats the Bible. It’s held on a pedestal and every woman in this society is supposed to live up to the high standards Cinderella set for them, all while having to give in to every whim or desire their husbands set for them. It’s messed up and again I was excited to see how our main character, Sophia, was going to defeat this patriarchal way of thinking.

However, after 25% all of this charm and world building fell flat. We get to see a few areas outside of our main city but unfortunately, I didn’t really understand how our characters got there and their motivations behind them. At this point, all of the world building that happened for the rest of the book was completely an info dump. We had one character who was all knowing because she’d been alive for the entire time this society has existed and so she could give our main characters at this point all of the little bread crumbs they needed to keep the story moving forward. This leads me to the point where any single problem our main character ran into was just easily or conveniently fixed. She could walk around her village when supposedly all guards are supposed to be looking for her and she’s not caught or accosted once. The villain in this story is also just evil for the sake of being evil, from what I can remember, and his mustache-twirly moments were cheesy rather than scary or interesting to read because he had no development. The twist at the end was also easy to guess and it fell flat.

Our characters were also lacking in development which meant their relationships were unbelievable and it all felt very insta-lovey to me. I appreciated the addition of a sapphic romance into the story but it wasn’t done as well as I’d hoped it would be. Our main character Sophie had multiple moments throughout the beginning of the book where her internal monologue discusses how much she wants to be with her childhood sweetheart, but as soon as she sees Constance, I mean almost immediately, that all goes out the window.

This was not all I’d hoped it would be and more but I may have had my expectations set too high. I’d probably only recommend this to YA readers who appreciate something on the younger side of the genre. Otherwise, I don’t recommend picking this one up.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really liked this book.
This book takes the idea of Cinderella and Prince Charming and considers the idea that maybe there wasn't a happily ever after.
It has been 200 hundred years since Cinderella died and now the girls of Lillie are required to attend the annual ball once they turn 16, they have 3 chances to be chosen before they are forfeit. The women have not power and must be meek and follow their husbands in all things.
Sophia, does not want to be chosen rather she wants the freedom to be with Erin the girl she loves.
This was an interesting book with a surprise at the very end. I figured out how the king was getting his powers pretty early on but that didn't make the book any less enjoyable. I loved how strong the girls were and that really all they wanted was to live their loves on their own terms.
The idea of complacency and just accepting the status quo was important and resontants in our society today.
Great concept and execution.

I’m a sucker for a well-crafted fairy tale remix, and when I saw this one being marketed as queer black girls taking down the patriarchy, I was all in. That’s why I’m bummed to say this one fell flat for me. The premise is initially interesting, taking place 200 years after Cinderella’s death, where going to the ball is mandatory for young women, but quickly unravels as the characters and their plights become less and less believable. I think it’s a safe assumption that characters will get more complex as the story unfolds, but here the opposite happens. The characters seemed to devolve until they didn’t have any meaningful distinctions: the 200-year-old witch and the 16-year-old protagonist have the same mannerisms and speech.

One of the main problems with the story was its voice—I could never tell what the intended age demographic was. The writing felt quite young (think 4th or 5th grade level) but seems to be intended for older teens. One positive about this book is that it offers a cautionary tale about the stories we consume, highlighting the importance of what gets to depict normalcy and what is seen as a deviation. Unfortunately, that alone isn’t enough to make me recommend it.

Cinderella is dead. She has been for over two hundred years. And her legacy of a happy ever after lives on in the town of Lille. Much to the horror of the women who live there. Each year eligible women are to attend the ball where suitors lay claim on them. Id they are not chosen they have two more chances before they become “forfeit” and sent to the workhouse - or worse.

This gripping tale will take hold of you instantly and won’t let go. It was such a relevant story line for times like now where women still have to fight for their freedom . The love story here was a great addition but didn’t distract from a thrilling and important story

What a fantastic book. I didn’t fully know what I was getting into when I got it from Netgalley—only knowing it was sapphic and had something to do with Cinderella. I adore this idea of using the Grimms fairy tale version of Cinderella as the bases of a patriarchal society. The Cinderella story is this society’s bible. What a cool concept! And I loved the execution of it. Sophia is a great character. She’s strong and independent. And Constance is just the coolest. The two perfect girls to take down the patriarchy! Also it’s gay which makes every book better.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Not going to lie, when I saw that I was accepted to read Cinderella Is Dead I most definitely screamed and geeked out. I was a giddy kid and weirdly enough wanted to watch all the Cinderella movies known to man. After reading this, I will definitely do that very thing.

In this, you will meet Sophia who is a 16 year old girl. She is stubborn and in love with a girl named Erin. Unfortunately, their romance is forbidden and they are about to be apart of a ball where a man can and will probably claim them. Sophia definitely deserves way better than Erin, friendship and/or romance wise - I'm just saying.

I honestly enjoyed the heck out of this retelling. There was just something about this version and how so many little details could somehow blow my mind. One thing I didn't see coming was the ending, well - some of it.

Along the way, we do get to know some hidden truths and we get a new character to fall in love with. I definitely enjoyed everything about Constance in this book. She was just a little spitfire and I fell in love with her instantly.

In the end, this was such a good book. Definitely a page turner, gives you a couple to SHIP, and it was amazingly addicting to read.

This book had a lot of potential and I would still really recommend this if you are interested in it but I did have some problems with this book. The ending felt a bit anticlimactic and quick. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the romance. I mean, it could have been so fucking cute and amazing but I just think it was very underdeveloped. There were also some moments I wasn't really interested. A lot of the wolrd building was done in an info-dumpy way and just dragged things out a bit. But overall this is a pretty quick and engaging read, set in a dark fairy-taley world. It does very interesting things with the original tale of Cinderella and TRULY switched it on its head. I quite liked out characters and even though some parts of the story were predictable I had a great time reading this. So yeah, it's a not a great book but also not a bad one, an automatic three star.

Read the book in one evening! Could not put it down.
If you like Dystopian books or dark retellings of fairy tales, this is for you.
Lots of action and adventure and magic.
Strong female characters overcoming their awful circumstances.
Age appropriate for High School and up.